The 10th Kingdom ll: The Next Generation Style 1
by Lilian Portia
Summary: Sequel to T10K. All she wanted was to help out her mom; Lily never expected to meet a prince--especially one who was terrified of her. Bad summary, lol; rating really between PG-13 and R probably. :)
1. One, 2A

Disclaimer: No, I don't own the original T10K characters. Yes, I own Lily, Ryder, Matthew, Thomas, the Bed-N-Breakfast and anything else that I happen to toss in to this kinda crazy mix. :) I got ideas from some other people, but I can't remember which ideas, or which people, so if you did something like this, maybe it was you and I should be thanking you! Thank you! Lol. I'm a doof. Well, hopefully the ideas that I got from other people are changed enough to where it doesn't seem like I stole them or something. If it does, I promise I didn't mean to! And if you have a big complaint, tell me, and I'll see what I can do to fix it, kay?

Whew. I'm outta breath. That was a long Disclaimer! Well, with no further ado:

The Tenth Kingdom II: The Next Generation

~*~ Chapter 1 ~*~

"Mom? Are you okay?" I asked nervously as my mother sank down into her chair.

"I'll be fine, Lily. Don't worry about it."

"Can I do something for you? I could take over for a few days--you look like you could use the rest."

"Oh, Lily, that'd be great. Uh, how about you send Ryder to the palace to tell Wendell I can't make it for a few days and that you're taking over, okay? You're not actually supposed to, but I'm sure he'll understand."

"Sure, Mom," I said. Then I turned to the door of my brother's room. "Get out here, Butthead!"

"Lily," my mom warned.

"Sorry."

~*~

When my brother got back from the palace, he was fuming. He stormed in, all the while muttering under his breath.

"What's wrong, Ryder?"

"King Wendell's sick too, so Prince Matthew's running everything. When I finally got to talk to him and explained everything, he said, 'Oh, that's too bad. You have my sympathy. But the girl can't run the Bed-n-Breakfast.' like it was nothing! Then he sent me away to walk home in the pouring rain!"

By the time he was finished, my mother and I were both ready to go give that prince a piece of our minds. I talked them into letting me go. It was easier than I thought it would be, because they were both furious, too, and my mother couldn't leave feeling the way she did.

As I was walking out the door, Ryder said, "I think it's gonna storm real bad, so be careful, okay?" He quickly added, "Not that I care."

I smiled, then ran out. I made it to the palace in ten minutes. I waited just as long to see the prince. When he walked down the huge, winding staircase, he was looking as snobbish as ever.

"You requested an audience?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "You know the boy you saw earlier, Ryder?"

"Oh yes. Wanted some _girl_ to take over the Bed-n-Breakfast."

"_Some girl?_ Is that why you wouldn't allow it?"

"Of course that's why. Now, what did you need?"

I barely held in a growl, but just then there was a clap of thunder. Thomas, the king's manservant, rushed down the stairs. "Your highness, it has been advised that everyone take cover in the basement. Young lady, that includes you. You can't go out in this weather."

"Thank you, Thomas. We'll be right down."

Thomas bowed, then hurried off. Prince Matthew turned to me and offered his arm. I just looked at him, so he said, "You will accompany me to the basement." But he didn't try the arm thing again.

He led me all through the palace. In about an hour, he found a door leading to the basement. So we went in, preparing for hours of waiting. However, we were the only people there. Apparently, there was more than one basement. We exchanged annoyed glances, then sat down on opposite sides of the room.

I heard a wolf howl in the distance, and then realized I wasn't feeling to great either. I'd just been too busy to notice it. I groaned in anticipation. Glancing at the prince's figure, huddled in the corner, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

"Are you all right, your highness?" I asked, trying not to grimace at my own pain. Though there were no windows, I knew that there was a full moon that night.

"You may call me Matt until we are out of here if you wish. I . . . I'm fine."

"Well, Matt, you don't look or sound fine. We're gonna be in here for a while. If you wanna talk about something, go for it. I won't laugh or anything."

He sighed. After a few minutes, he said, "It's just that . . . I'm . . . fraydovewols . . ."

"You're what--agh!"

He gasped and rushed to my side. "Are you okay?"

Though I was trying to ignore the pain that usually sent me writhing on the floor in agony, I only winced and nodded. He didn't look very convinced. We were silent for a moment.

"Matt? Did you say you were afraid of something?"

"Promise you won't laugh or make fun?"

"Promise."

"Well . . . I'm afraid of wolves."

I was shocked then. He must not have known who I was. I almost told him, but then I realized I'd just scare him. Then the pain got to me and I let out a small whimper. Prince Matthew jumped. "Did you hear that?" he asked, looking around suspiciously.

"Nope, not a--" I stopped mid-sentence, because my wolf side was taking over--fast. He looked horrified, but I couldn't do anything about it. "Matt, do you--have--a rope--or--anything?"

Matt looked around and then held up a pair of handcuffs questioningly. "These work? And why?"

"That's great. I'll tell you why tomorrow, just trust me, Matt. Handcuff me." He hesitated. "Now! Before it's too late." He quickly snapped the cuffs on my wrists, still looking terrified. "Now get out! Lock the door and don't unlock it till tomorrow."

I grimaced again and he just stood there, gaping at me. So I growled. He backed up, eyes wide.

"Don't worry, your highness. I wouldn't hurt you. I definitely wouldn't eat you," I said slowly, walking toward him. He gulped and I knew I was getting to him. "You do know why, don't you, your highness?" He shook his head nervously. "Well you know wolves only have one mate. Ever. And you're it. _You're_ my one true love. Ironic--" He backed into the wall, but I took another step anyway. "--isn't it, your _highness_?" I grinned at him and he just gawked at me. "Run, Matt. What are you waiting for? Get out of here!"

~*~ Chapter 2 ~*~

The next morning I woke up with no idea of where I was. I looked around. It was dark; there were no windows in the large, dusty room.

I stood up and walked to the door, but when I reached for the knob, I realized I was hand-cuffed. I then remembered the night before--up until right after Prince Matthew told me he was afraid of wolves. Everything else was a blur.

Just then, the door opened. Prince Matthew and an exhausted-looking King Wendell were standing there.

"Lily!" King Wendell exclaimed when he saw me. "You were here all night?"

"I told you! Wait. You know her?"

Before I realized what was going on, I was being hugged by King Wendell. I hugged him back as best I could, finally understanding.

"Lily, Virginia's probably worried sick about you," he said, ignoring Prince Matthew. I explained why I'd made the trip in the first place, leaving out the fact that Matt hadn't wanted to give permission because I was a girl.

"Oh, of course. Don't worry about it, Lily."

I glanced at Prince Matthew who was still somewhat in a state of shock.

"Um, Wendell? Could I speak to Matt--er, his highness--privately for a moment?"

He gave me a knowing smile, then nodded. "Lily, tell your mother I said hello, okay? Wolf, too."

"Sure. Later Wendell."

"Goodbye Lily," he said. Then he turned around and walked off, shaking his head.

I turned back to Prince Matthew.

"Listen--your highness--I . . . I can't really remember what happened last night. That's usually how it is; I go crazy, then I don't have a clue the next morning. I'm sorry. If I said or did anything, I'd really appreciate it if you'd just forget about it. I'm really sorry about all this."

"Yeah, sure. Uh, you can still call me Matt if you want. I'm sorry about yesterday, Lily. I didn't realize you were . . . you. And I guess I wanted to let everybody know who was boss, you know?"

I nodded, smiling. "Matt? Could you say that again?"

"I'm sorry."

"No, not that part. The part where you said my name."

He smiled back at me. "Lily."

"One more favor Matt? Not to take advantage of you or anything."

"Yes, sure."

"Could you get these handcuffs off me?"

~*~

That night, my dad got home. (He always left for a few days when there was a full moon.) After we ate dinner, I went outside with him.

"Dad, can I ask you for some advice?"

"Sure you can, Lily. You know you can ask your old man anything."

"Well, there's this guy--"

"Ohhh, no. Not already," he said, whimpering.

"Da-ad."

"Sorry. Go ahead, Lily."

"Well there's this guy. And he's really really sweet, and really really cute, and . . . He's just . . . perfect . . ." I sighed. "But . . . Well, like I said, he's _so_ sweet, and nice, and gorgeous, and--"

"Lily."

"Yes?"

"Just ask."

"Well . . . He's _really_ afraid of wolves."

"Mhm. Well, that's a definite blow to your confidence, isn't it?"

"Dad, it's not funny."

"Sorry."

"I mean, I don't know what his deal is. It would be okay except for . . . full moons. Like, when I talked to him this morning--about last night--"

"Last night? This morning? Lily, don't tell me it's Prince Matthew." I gave him a guilty look and he whimpered. "Lily, Prince Matt--Prince . . . Matt . . ."

"What? What about Matt, Dad?"

"Matt? You're on a first name basis already? Ohhh . . ."

"Da-ad!"

"Lily," he began, then sighed. "Matthew shut himself up in his room. There're rumors he's gone mad. Cripes, I think he has. I went to the palace this afternoon on my way back. He saw me, and I tried to talk to him, but he ran upstairs. That's when he locked himself in."

"Cripes. Dad, he didn't say anything? Do you know why?"

"I just know Wendy said he's been . . . uh . . . flustered since this morning."

"This morning?" I winced in realization and put my hand on my forehead. I was leaning up against a fencepost but seriously considering pulling it up out of the ground and knocking myself out with it.

"Lily?" my dad said, peering at me.

"Huff puff, Dad, I've caused him to go crazy!" I thought for a moment. "I've gotta go talk to him."

As I turned to leave, my dad put his arm out to block me. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Lily."

"I have to, Dad. I can't just sit around helpless." He sighed and scratched his head as he thought. "Don't you understand, Dad? He's afraid of us. Terrified. He'll never speak to me again if I don't make him see that he can trust me. I _have_ to make him trust me, Dad."

After a minute, he warily nodded. I hugged him. "Wish me luck."

(To Be Continued . . .)


	2. 2B

A/N: Hi! Okay, I know it's been ages, but I'm totally into this again. And now one of my best friends, Heather (hey girl!), is into 10th Kingdom, so she'll hopefully be on me about continuing my two fics. This one is getting interesting, as you will soon see. I am thinking about trying to rework Chapter One, but I started to today and I think I might add a few words and that's all. So it's nothing too big. The other version is something that is taking more reworking, and so is taking more time. But I am working on it, have no fear. I have started Chapter Three of this, so I thought I would go ahead and post the rest of Chapter Two. I hope you enjoy it—the whole chapter together is twice as long as Chapter One! (And not just b/c of this a/n. Lol.)

Snow White

Chapter Two (Continued)

I ran to the palace but stopped abruptly when I saw the guards at the door.

"Hey guys. I can go in, right?"

They exchanged glances.

"Lily, you must promise you won't do anything to upset Prince Matthew further. He's very shaken up."

"Charles, why would I want to do anything to upset him? I came to try to calm him down."

He sighed and the other guard, Alexander, shrugged at him.

"All right, Lily. But be careful."

As the doors opened I gave them each a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks guys!"

I rushed upstairs, then realized I had no idea where I was going. Then I saw two more guards posted outside one of the doors. That had to be it. I walked briskly over to them.

"Guys, can I _please_ go in and talk to Ma—Prince Matthew?"

"Lil, you can ask him. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you."

I sighed and steeled myself—I had absolutely no idea what the prince's reaction to me would be. I knocked lightly.

After a few long moments, I heard, "Who is it?"

"Matt, it's Lily. Please let me come in."

There was another agonizing pause.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanna talk to you. Please, Matt."

"Why should I trust you after last night?"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" I asked quietly, wondering what horrible sin I could have committed.

"You—you never told me you were a wolf—and it was a full moon last night—and—"

"Matt, I'd forgotten it was a full moon last night because of my mom being sick and your treating Ryder and me the way you did in the beginning. Besides, I thought you knew! How was I supposed to know you didn't know who I was? Everyone here knows me."

"Well . . . I suppose . . . No, you didn't hurt me. You—you rather—startled me, though."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Matt. I'm _really_, very sorry."

After another brief pause, in which I swear my heart stopped beating, the door slowly opened.

"All right, Lily. You can come in."

I smiled and walked into the room. When one of the guards began to follow, Prince Matthew glared at him.

"Only Lily is allowed in this room until I say so, Ethan. Is that clear?"

"But—your highness—"

"_Is that clear_, Ethan?"

"Yes, your highness," he said with a slight bow, backing away.

Matt closed the door and turned to me. "Lily, you're all flushed. Is something wrong?"

"No. Not at all," I lied, trying to back away.

The truth was that being alone in his room, so close to him, smelling that intoxicating, spicy scent of his was sending unfamiliarly naughty thoughts racing through my brain. All my senses were alert, and I was afraid to speak or move. If I scared him or broke his trust . . . He'd never be my mate.

"Lily?"

I shook my head roughly, trying to remove those thoughts from my formerly innocent mind.

"Yes?"

"I . . . Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" he asked, taking a seat on his bed and gesturing to the spot beside him. I fought back a whimper, but sat delicately on his large bed.

He just stared at me with those beautiful, sparkly blue eyes, and for nothing could I have broken our eye contact.

"I . . . uh . . . Matt, I . . . I _didn't_ hurt you last night, did I?"

He blushed. _I_ made this wonderful prince blush! I was afraid to know now what I had done when we were all alone in that dark basement. I bit back a groan that was produced half from my concern and half from the heat that such thoughts as mine brought on.

"No, Lily. You didn't hurt me at all. In fact, you barely touched me."

"Barely?" Barely! Meaning I _had_ touched this forbidden love of mine!

He turned a deep crimson and I caught the scent of a man . . . aroused. I felt the blood rush to my face. Was he thinking about something that had happened the previous night between us, or had his mind wandered?

He cleared his throat. "Er . . . yes, well . . . either way, no one was hurt . . ."

He was not answering my question, but I could see—and smell—that his mind was on anything but the words coming from his mouth.

"Y—your highness . . . Maybe I should be going . . ." I said, standing. It was getting difficult for me to control myself.

He grabbed my arm. "No, Lily. Please stay?"

I let out a whimper and he let go of my arm as if I'd burned him. He smelled slightly of fear, but the scent of his arousal strongly overpowered it. I stopped, but didn't sit down again; we stared at each other. His heartbeat was racing so that I would have feared for him had my own heart not been pacing his.

"Lily," he breathed.

I took in a sharp breath and sat down again, still staring into his darkened eyes.

"Yes?"

"You . . . Last night . . . Do wolves . . . Do you truly have only one mate? One true love in your lifetime?"

"Yes."

"And you know for sure who they are? When you meet them?"

"If we're old enough to understand, yes."

"Lily." His face was inching closer. "Have you met your mate yet?"

****

Oh cripes. What did I do?

"I . . . Yes. I have . . ."

Oh, those tantalizing lips . . . Soft, creamy skin, but with callused hands—who knew from _what_ a prince could earn callused hands—but they were nice.

"Lily."

Oh, **why** won't he stop saying my name like that?! That voice will drive me crazy! And he's so close!

I felt myself trembling, and I knew that he saw because one of his hands found its way to my back, pulling me even closer to him.

"Yes?"

"May I kiss you, Lily?"

(To be continued . . . In chapter 3, of course.)

Avelyn Lauren: Of course Matthew knows family history. But you don't. ;) I shall explain later on in the story, but there is reason to this. Thank you for reminding me to explain, though, I hadn't really thought much about how that would sound. But yes, he understands about Wolf and all that, but . . . Ah, well, musn't give anything away.

JackieSparrow40: Thank you so much! That's so sweet! I so know what you mean about Wolf—isn't he just adorable?! Hehe. The things I could do with him . . . But I'll save that for my next story. ;)

SugaAngel86: Hey Heather! Girl, of course I'm evil! We knew that already. Hello? Lol. But you've gotta give me snaps for sending you this chapter early, right? I lux you! Lol. Thank you for reviewing! (PS: **_Flower!!!_**)

Also special thanks to my other reviewers—I love you guys! W/o you I would have totally forgotten and left this story (and I love working on this story now!), especially tajb, who sent me a two year wake up call! J :

Thank you!

Zelda2

Newsgirl29

TaleTeller

Killashandra


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I'm so so sorry it's taken so long! You guys are so awesome, thank you so much for everything – especially waiting. (Apologies in advance for a bit of fluff I couldn't get away from. Teehee.)

**Chapter Three**

My breath caught in my throat. He radiated sincerity and hope; I nodded slowly. His perfect lips curved up into a half-grin, and his breathing sped up ever so slightly.

His kiss was like the first breath of spring . . . dew on rose petals . . . butterfly wings . . . I pulled away from him unwillingly.

"Matt . . . Oh, my Matt . . ." He looked so innocently confused. "Matt . . . We can't do this."

"What? Lily . . ."

I felt tears fill my eyes. "You . . . Your kisses are sweet, like honey . . . and your eyes . . . nice, clear blue, like the sky . . . Matt, you're toxic."

"I . . . I don't . . ."

"Don't you understand, Matt? Until you get things figured out, you can never love me like I love you. And it's unfair to lead me on like you could, and poison my lips with your wonderful kisses."

I walked to the door; he followed, reeking of confusion and despair.

"Lily. Lily, I don't understand. I- I- "

I turned, feeling a single tear run down my cheek. He looked as crestfallen as I felt.

"I know you lust for me. But that is not enough."

I began running and didn't stop until I reached my favorite tree. Soon, my dad appeared, no doubt having sensed my sorrowful presence.

"Lily? Lily-pie, what happened?"

I sniffed. "Oh, Daddy, it's terrible!"

His eyes narrowed darkly and I knew he was biting back a growl. "Lily, you _have_ to tell me what happened."

"He- Dad, he kissed me!"

"Wha- I- " He let out a small whimper. "Lily, how is that bad? For you, I mean."

"Dad . . . He's still afraid of us. He's confused and blinded by his lust. He can't really care about me until he can trust me."

"But he's doubting his fear. Lily, it is only a matter of time before he realizes what an extraordinary mate he has, just waiting for him. But _you_ have to trust _him_. And be there to wait for him."

I sniffed again. He was right. Of course.

"I'll wait. As long as it takes." I let out a howl, a promise to my beautiful mate-hopeful, and jumped down from my tree. We walked slowly toward home together.

"So soon, so soon," he whimpered.

I rolled my eyes and took off running. "Race you back!"

**A/N: **Sorry it's so short! I was trying to wait to post until I could get it as long as the other chapters, but I'm totally stuck. Any ideas? Thank you all so much for waiting, and for reviewing. Special thanks to:

Tracykingdom (Is your real name Tracy? Mine's Traci. : ) )

Dr. Huff-Puff (Coming from you that means a lot!)

Pallas Athena olympian (I hope I'm not too late!)

Much thanks, and cookies and hot chocolate for everyone! With marshmallows! Mmmm . . .


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